Stephen B. Bevans

The Reverend Stephen B. Bevans, SVD
Orders
Ordination	September 5, 1971
Personal details
Born	(1944-07-14) July 14, 1944 (age 81) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Nationality	American
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Parents	Bert Bennett and Bernadette (O'Grady) Bevans
Occupation	Catholic priest
Profession	Professor, theologian, missiologist, systematic theologian
Alma mater	Divine Word College (B.A.), 1967 Pontifical Gregorian University (S.T.B.), 1970; (S.T.L.), 1972 University of Notre Dame (M.A.), 1984 University of Notre Dame (Ph.D.), 1986

Stephen B. Bevans
Subject	Contextual Theology, Missiology, Systematic Theology
Notable works	Models of Contextual Theology
Notable awards	American Society of Missiology Lifetime Achievement Award [1]

Stephen Bennett Bevans, SVD (born July 14, 1944) is an American Catholic priest, theologian, and professor emeritus at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois. He is known for his book Models of Contextual Theology . ^[2]

Biography

Bevans was born on July 14, 1944, in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the son of Bert Bennett and Bernadette (O'Grady) Bevans.

After attending a Society of the Divine Word high school seminary in Riverside, California, ^[3] he attended Divine Word College, graduating with his B.A. in 1967. ^[4] He then received his S.T.B. and S.T.L. at the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1970 and 1972, respectively. ^[5] After his priestly ordination in 1971, he spent 9 years as a missionary in the Philippines. ^[6] He obtained his M.A. and Ph.D. in Theology in 1984 and 1986, respectively, at the University of Notre Dame. ^[7] Upon the completion of his graduation study, he started teaching at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois, until his retirement in 2015. ^[8]

He is the past president of the American Society of Missiology ^[9] and now serves on the editorial board. He is also a member of the World Council of Churches' Commission on World Mission and Evangelism. ^[10]

His monograph, Models of Contextual Theology , argues that all theology is contextual, whether it is practical theology or systematic theology. On top of the two loci theologici, scripture and tradition, context, in other words, human experience, should be the third source for theological expression. ^[11]

A festschrift was published in his honor, entitled Christian Mission, Contextual Theology, Prophetic Dialogue (2018). ^[12]

In 2021, the American Society of Missiology gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2025, the Catholic Theological Society of America gave Bevans the John Courtney Murray Award, an annual award for a “lifetime of distinguished theological achievement.” ^[13]

Selected works

• Models of Contextual Theology (2002). Maryknoll, New York: Orbis. ISBN   9780883448144
• Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today (2004). Maryknoll, New York: Orbis (With Roger Schroeder). ISBN   9781608330287
• An Introduction to Theology in Global Perspective (2009). Maryknoll, New York: Orbis. ISBN   9781570758522.
• Mission and Culture: The Louis J. Luzbetak Lectures (2012). Maryknoll, New York: Orbis. ISBN   9781570759659
• Essays in Contextual Theology (2018). Leiden: Brill. ISBN   9789004363083

See also

• A Video by Divine Word Theologate Chicago

References

1. "World-renowned missiologist receives lifetime achievement award". divineword.org. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
2. "Stephen Bevans, SVD". ctu.edu. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
3. Bevans, Stephen (2019). "My Pilgrimage in Mission". International Bulletin of Mission Research. 43: 82–91. doi: 10.1177/2396939318790421 . S2CID   158353076.
4. "RESUME and LIST OF PUBLICATIONS" (PDF). cmns.ro. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
5. "RESUME and LIST OF PUBLICATIONS" (PDF). cmns.ro. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
6. "Stephen B. Bevans". wipfandstock.com. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
7. "Cafe Choice: Creative work by Notre Dame people". magazine.nd.edu. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
8. Bevans, Stephen B., 1944- (2018). Essays in contextual theology. Boston, M.A.: Brill. ISBN   9789004366718. OCLC   1028845886.
9. Shenk, Wilbert R. (2014). History of the American Society of Missiology, 1973–2013. Elkhart, IN: Institute of Mennonite Studies. ISBN   978-0-936273-52-5.
10. "RESUME and LIST OF PUBLICATIONS" (PDF). cmns.ro. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
11. Bevans, Stephen B., 1944- (1992). Models of contextual theology. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books. ISBN   0883448149. OCLC   26014584.
12. Irvin, Dale; Phan, Peter C. (20 December 2018). Christian Mission, Contextual Theology, Prophetic Dialogue: Essays in Honor of Stephen B. Bevans, SVD. Orbis Books. ISBN   978-1-60833-765-1.
13. "Mission and vision: Stephen Bevans and Catholic theology". America Magazine. 2025-06-24. Retrieved 2025-06-24.